Fighting Fire with Fire
by Z0mbiKitty
Summary: In a delusion from extreme hunger and thirst, Kate stumbles upon a group that has mixed feelings about her. She grows to know everyone in the group and even begins to have unexpected feelings for a certain older man. (Takes path of game's plot but strays often)
1. Chapter 1

"Please," she whined, shading her eyes from the blinding sun that was beating down on her. She had been walking for miles, days now, with no food or water. Her body was beginning to break down with every step she took.

She kept her eyes closed as she practically dragged her feet, not caring if she lived or died at this point.

She let out a laugh, "don't be silly."

Her brain was on autopilot, reality weaving with memories, creating scenarios in her mind to which she responded to physically.

As delusional as she was, she managed to open her eyes. Everything was blurry. She could make out slight movement off in the distance. Short figures running around. Were they children? No, couldn't be.

There was a large yellow sign in the shape of an arrow. She rubbed her eyes to try and make out what it said.

"Motel?" she questioned in disbelief. Was it real? Or had her mind been playing tricks on her?

She continued to approach it, picking up her pace to reach it faster.

"Fuck!" she fell to her knees. Her lungs were burning as if she ran a mile when she merely walked a few feet. She panted with her head hanging just above the pavement.

"Just sleep. Just for a minute," she placed her face on the heated tar, her breath deep as she closed her eyes.

xxx

"Mom, dad!"a small boy ran to his parents in fear, followed by a girl who looked about the same age.

"What is it, Duck?" the father dropped his tools, looking to the boy.

"Clementine, are you alright? What's going on?" another man rushed over to check on the little girl.

"There's someone in the road!" she pointed, a worried look on her face.

"Someone? You mean, someone who's _alive_?" the boy's father asked.

"I heard them say something. They were walking and just fell," she explained.

The man with Clementine sighed, "alright..you and Duck go stay with Katjaa, Kenny and I will check it out," he said with a look on his face, "you and I need to have a talk later."

He patted the top of Clementine's hat and followed Kenny to grab a weapon.

"You think it's just a walker, Lee?" Kenny asked him.

"I don't know. She said they spoke, so we should find out."

They walked through the space, an opening that could have only been made by the children.

"Clem and Duck are sneaky little ones," Lee mumbled.

"There," Kenny raised his gun, him and Lee approaching the body with caution.

"It's a girl."

"Is it? Or is it just another walker? I ain't waitin' around to find out," Kenny pushed her body over with his foot, a small groan coming from her mouth.

Lee slowly moved his hand to her throat, pressing two fingers to her.

"She has a pulse," he said, lowering his guard a bit.

"For how long? That's the question," Kenny scoffed.

"Is she going to be alright?" Clementine's voice peeped from behind them.

"What are you doing out here? I told you to stay by Duck and Katjaa," Lee turned to her.

"I know..I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if she was ok," she looked to her feet, getting another sigh from Lee.

"We don't really know right now. Maybe Katjaa will take a look at her," Lee said, looking to Kenny for confirmation.

"If she raises even a single red flag, I won't hesitate to shoot," Kenny explained.

Lee carried the unconscious girl into the safety of their walls, immediately taking her to Katjaa to be looked at.

Lee escorted Clementine to a spot outside where they could chat. He kneeled down in front of her, a look on his face that said 'you know what I'm about to say.'

"So, wanna tell me why you and Duck thought it was a good idea to go outside the perimeter?"

She looked down, moving dirt around with her foot.

"We were looking for bugs," she admitted.

"Any bugs you find out there can be found in here. You _need_ to stay within the border. It's for your safety. You understand that, right? What if there was someone out there who had a weapon? What if a walker got you?"

She frowned, "I'm sorry."

"Ask me first next time, alright?" Lee smiled.

She nodded her head and hugged him.

"Can we check on the lady now?" she asked, eager to see her.

"Why are you so concerned with her?" Lee wondered, giving a small laugh.

"I-I don't know. It would be nice to have another girl around. One who might play with me," she looked to the left, pointing out that none of the women here are too interested in playing.

"Kenny and I have to make sure she isn't a threat, then we can figure that out afterwards," Lee stood, tapping her shoulder.

"Why don't you go find Duck and I'll let you know when you can see her."

He walked into the room where Katjaa and Kenny were observing the girl.

"Anything?" he asked them.

"Well, she is very dehydrated. Who knows how long she's gone without water or food," katjaa said.

"And we found _this_ in her pocket. She kept her driver's license for some reason," Kenny lifted the plastic card to his face, "name's Kate, around 24 or 25 years old and she's far away from home. "

"All we can do is let her rest and leave her some food and water for when, and _if_ , she wakes up," Katjaa explained.

"What are we gonna tell the rest of the group?" Lee asked, concerned that the girl will stir up some fear in everyone.

"We all know priss-ass Lilly will have something to say," Kenny added, "especially if we're giving our food and water to some stranger."

"None of us would've gotten this far without the help of strangers, we can't forget that," Lee said.

There was a violent knock on the door, "Katjaa, Kenny, Lee? You guys in there?"

"Speak of the devil's spawn," Kenny rolled his eyes.

"I got it," Lee sighed, opening the door to a woman with arms crossed and hips angled.

"What's this I hear about a dead girl?"

"Lilly, she's not dead. Duck and Clementine spotted her-"

"What are we, some kind of orphanage for survivors? We barely have enough food to last us the month, we can't afford another mouth to feed," she went off.

"Is there ever a time when you keep your damn mouth shut?" Kenny spat.

"Yeah, when things are taken care of the way they should be," Lilly gritted her teeth.

"That's enough from both of you. The girl isn't even conscious. We don't know if she will be anytime soon," Lee assured.

A loud coughing came from outside, grabbing Lilly's attention immediately.

"We're not done with this discussion," she said before rushing out the door.

The tension in the room left alongside Lilly, making everyone sigh in relief. Katjaa continued to examine Kate, making sure she didn't miss anything important, while Lee and Kenny stepped out to continue working on various things around the inn.


	2. Chapter 2

A foreign feeling against her skin woke Kate. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, the view she saw was unexpected. Then again, she had no idea what to expect considering how messed up she's been these last few days.

She kicked her legs, squirming frantically to get into a sitting position to protect herself with the only weapon she had on her...her own hands.

"Who are you?" she demanded, the woman in front of her backing away with an expression equal to her own.

The woman had blonde hair and her physique was on the thicker side, pretty nonetheless.

"I-I'm only checking you for wounds," her accented voice stuttered, "my name is Katjaa."

Why was _she_ scared? She had the upper hand here. Kate was the one passed out.

"Where am I?" her eyes darted around the dark room. She nearly forgot about the nightmare she was living in. She couldn't even recall how she got here and her stomach felt like it was beginning to digest itself.

"you were passed out on the street, my husband and-"

"You should have just left me there," she scoffed. There was nothing this life had to offer her anymore. Everyone she knew, everyone she ever cared for has been taken from her. She has _nothing_. She has _no_ _one_.

"There's some food and water," Katjaa pointed to the nightstand beside her. Her eyes widened and she suddenly turned into a neanderthal, grabbing at the bottled water and downed the entire thing. Almost instantly she felt like half the weight had been lifted from her sore body.

She took the small cheese and cracker snacks, tearing the plastic from them, placing them in her mouth one after the other like she'd never eaten in her life. And who knows, this could very well be her last meal.

"Thank you," she breathed heavily, swallowing the last of the food in her mouth. Suddenly her mind was crystal clear and she wasn't wondering what was real or fake. Still, she found it hard to remember what she had been doing these last couple of days.

"Darling-" a man walked into the room, immediately drawing his gun as soon as he saw Kate's woken form. Might be the delusion talking, but his 'stache definitely walked in before him.

"Holy Jesus fuck!" Kate yelled, covering her face with her arms as if they'd stop a bullet from shooting clean through her face.

"Kenny, I don't think that's necessary," Katjaa put a hand on his arm. He shot her a quick look and lowered the gun.

"Kate, is it? That's what it says on your license," his hand disappeared behind him and when it returned he tossed the plastic card on the bed in front of her.

He looked to be an average man with a hat and longer hair than even her own.

"Yeah, that's me. Who said you could go through my pockets?" she grew defensive. Just who the hell did these people think they were?

"Had to make sure you weren't armed with anything. Don't want you waking up and killing my family," Kenny explained. Reasonable.

"I'm no killer," she rolled her eyes," and I clearly had no say in the matter."

She grabbed her ID and scooted to the edge of the bed. She could see from her peripherals Kenny gripping his gun tightly again at her every movement. She couldn't blame them for not trusting her. She's as much a stranger to them as they are to her.

"Thank you for the food and water. I really appreciate it, but I think I'll be going now."

"Don't expect us to stop you," Kenny said.

She weakly pulled herself to her feet, trying her best to hide the pain she felt running through her entire body. _God, did I get hit by a fucking freight train, or what?_

"Maybe you should rest here for the night," Katjaa suggested, her voice gentle and motherly.

"Honey, the girl made up her mind. Let her leave."

"Your... _husband_? He's right, ma'am, but thank you."

She walked by them, opening the door. The light outside nearly blinded her, but that was the least of her surprise. There were children here.

"Kids?" I turned back to the couple.

Katjaa smiled, walking away from Kenny and coming up beside Kate, "the boy is Duck. He's our son. The girl is Clementine. We met her with Lee," she pointed to a man reinforcing the perimeter.

"I guess I wasn't dreaming," she laughed.

She looked back to the kids who were drawing pictures on the ground with chalk, smiling. _Smiling_. A genuine smile that only a child could have. If only she could go back to that time in her life.

She was pulled from her thoughts and her mouth hung open slightly when she realized she made eye contact with the little girl. She looked right at her, getting up to run over to her.

"You're awake? Does that mean you're not a threat?" she smiled.

She was quite the cutie. Her hair all poofy under a hat with the letter "D" on it.

Kate raised an eyebrow, cracking a small grin," uh, yeah, I guess so."

She was so young, it broke Kate's heart. There two kids were growing up during a time where the dead reanimated and will stop at nothing to rip you apart for a meal.

"Will you play with me?" she asked, hope radiating from her.

"I-I can do that, yeah. What did you have in mind?" she was taken aback by it all.

"We have some chalk," she shrugged.

"Let's go then," Kate laughed. Admittedly, she wanted nothing more than to let her guard down and just do mindless activity. Constantly watching your back gets old real fast.

She followed Clementine over to Duck. What an odd name for a human child, but she was sure there was a piece she was missing.

She sat down next to him and he had a big, goofy smile on his face when she was sitting Indian-style the best she could with the pulsating ache in her bones.

"Hey, Duck," she greeted with a smile.

"You know my name!" he grew excited.

"Yeah, your parents told me," she pointed her thumb behind her in the direction they were standing, watching as she got to know the kids.

"Where did you come from?" Clementine asked, picking up a piece of pink chalk and starting her own masterpiece before Kate's eyes.

"Well, it's a long story, but to make it short, I was with a small group. We all got split up when we ran into a large group of those dead things. I'm not even sure if any of them made it out alive," she twirled a piece of blue chalk in her fingers.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My parents are somewhere out there, too. I hope Lee will take me to find them," she said as she put the finishing touches on what looked like a flower.

Kate frowned, "I'm sorry, kiddo."

She started to make a drawing of her own before hearing a loud voice from behind her. It didn't sound too good and there was no doubt that it had to do with her.

"Are you staying with us?" Clementine asked, but it was barely heard. Kate's attention was on the adults, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Uh, what?" she turned her attention back to Clementine.

"Are you going to stay here? she repeated.

Kate didn't really know how to answer, tilting her head confusedly at her. She licked her bottom lip and swallowed, "well, I'm not really sure that it's my call."

The yelling was louder now and she had to see what the commotion was about.

"I'm sorry, you two. I just need to make sure I'm not causing any trouble over there," she said as she stood up.

She walked over to find Kenny arguing with a female she wasn't familiar with and the man, Lee, trying to sort the two out with no success.

"What's going on here?" Kate stepped in.

The girl was furious, glaring at her with fire burning in her eyes.

"What's going on is us running out of food and you being an extra mouth to feed!"

Kate's brows furrowed and she squinted her eyes, "are you serious? Is she serious?" she looked to Kenny and Lee, pointing at her.

"You can't just assume that I want to stay here," Kate laughed.

"It's no assumption. You are _not_ staying here!" the girl spat.

"You don't make all the rules, princess!" Kenny added, "this is a group, and we all make the decisions. I think we out-rule you on this one."

"Lilly, he's right," Lee spoke.

"Hey, hey," Kate interrupted, "I really don't want to cause any more problems. You all seem like nice people-"

"You heard the girl," Lilly extended her arm, her hand openly gesturing towards Kate.

This Lilly was beginning to get on her last nerve. There was no way that she got on anyone's good side with her obvious desire for control.

"You better not be threatening my daughter again," a grumpy looking man came strolling in.

"Nope, wouldn't wanna do that!" Kenny said sarcastically.

"Who's this?" he rudely pointed.

"Kate," Lee answered, "someone who might stay with us."

She wasn't familiar with Lee, but he seemed nice enough. She was surprised that he was already on her side as she's done nothing to prove herself to him. It made Kate smirk.

"You won't be smiling when we're out of fucking food," he said.

"You are a gentleman, aren't you?" Kate laughed, trying not to say anything to further dig herself into this hole she was apparently in. He wasn't worth the stress.

"I like her," a small voice came from behind her.

"Yeah, me too," another.

"So then it's settled. She stays," Kenny said, looking to the kids.

Lilly stormed off into one of the motel rooms, slamming the door behind her before her grump of a father followed behind her, mumbling curses under his breath.

Kate sighed, loosening the tension she didn't even know she had.

"Sorry for her behavior, she's...just hot-headed," Lee apologized.

She smiled, shaking her head, "it's understandable. But, uh, thank you. For sticking up for me. You didn't have to do that, you don't even know who I am."

"Well, Clementine and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for strangers putting their trust in us. You seem like a nice girl, especially if she thinks so."

So people trusted her enough, or so they say. Anything seemed right against Lilly's word, but she'll have to wait and see. She still wasn't sure if she was going to stay here or not.


End file.
